Bhubaneswar: Former Additional Director General (ADG) of All India Radio (AIR), Abhay Kumar Padhi passed away at a hospital in Bargarh on Monday morning. He had tested positive for COVID-19.
Padhi was an eminent Odia poet, story writer, author, mass communicator par excellence as well as visiting professor of journalism at IIMC, Dhenkanal and several universities and institutes across India.
He was also a strong proponent of Koshali language and western Odisha culture.
Padhi was a reputed member of the Indian Broadcasting Service and retired as ADG of AIR. He had also held positions as the director of AIR Stations in Cuttack, Sambalpur, news editor at AIR’s New Delhi headquarters and also worked in the I&B ministry and Prasar Bharati.
Expressing his condolence on Padhi’s demise, retired IAS official and former Principal DG of PIB, Umakant Mishra said, “Abhay was a greatly evolved human being. He was a great son of Odisha and a great proponent of Koshali language, culture and history.”
Recalling his association with Padhi, Mishra said, “We were colleagues and friends of over 50 years beginning from our days together at GM College in Sambalpur. He was a student of MA English and I was a fresher lecturer in political science. Abhay was a great asset for Prasar Bharati organisation. May Lord Jagannath bless his soul!”
